On Thursday 24 July 2014 Mr Nathan Holliday was found guilty at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court of two offences of unlawfully practising dentistry contrary to section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984, namely tooth whitening.The offences took place at Neat Teeth, 378 Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, S11 8PJ on 19 December 2013 and 31 March 2014.Mr Holliday didn’t attend court, but was fined £5,000 in his absence and ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge.He has also been ordered to pay £2,073.86 towards the GDC costs.

Tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry. This means that, in accordance with the law, it must only be carried out by registered dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists and clinical dental technicians (working to the prescription of a dentist).Patients can check their dental professional is registered by logging on to the GDC’s website.

Mrs Johnson, who has never been registered with the GDC, was given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs to the GDC of £2,000. She must also pay a £15 victim impact surcharge.

In delivering the verdict, the Magistrates stated:"We accept some responsibility lies with Pearlys, but had you responded to the General Dental Council’s first warning letter you would not find yourself here."Tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry. This means that, in accordance with the law, it must only be carried out by registered dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists and clinical dental technicians (working to the prescription of a dentist).

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

Posted - 28/08/2014 : 07:45:41The UK regulator of dental practice, the General Dental Council (GDC), has successfully prosecuted a Wirral-based man for unlawfully practising dentistry.On 26 August 2014 Wayne Roberts was found guilty at Wirral Magistrates' Court of two offences of unlawful dentistry (namely tooth whitening), contrary to section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984 and one offence of unlawful use of title, namely 'Dental Technician', contrary to section 39 (1) and (3).Mr Roberts didn't attend court.He's been fined £5000 on each count (a total of £15,000) and ordered to pay a £500 victim surcharge. Mr Roberts was also ordered to pay full costs to the GDC of £3167.25.The offences took place at Caldy Clinic, 161 Banks Road, West Kirby, Wirral, Merseyside, CH48 3HU and Caldy Clinic, 49 Rodney Street, Liverpool, L1 9EW.Mr Roberts is linked to the provision of illegal tooth whitening using the 'Megawhite' brand of products.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

Posted - 28/08/2014 : 07:48:05On 19 August 2014 Shadi Hattab appeared at City of London Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to unlawfully practising dentistry, namely tooth whitening, and unlawfully holding himself out as being prepared to practise dentistry, contrary to Section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984.The offences took place at Glamour Smile Clinic, 335 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7PX on 7 January and 11 June 2014. Mr Hattab, who has never been registered with the GDC, received a 12 month conditional discharge. He was ordered to pay the GDC's full costs of £892.56, as well as £138 compensation to the victim and a £15 victim surcharge.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

Posted - 10/10/2014 : 19:09:07On Thursday 9 October Gulham Kibria pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates' Court to unlawfully practising dentistry contrary to section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984, namely tooth whitening.The offence took place on 19 August 2014 at ILaser Clinic, 36 George Street, Manchester M1 4HA.Mr Kibria, who has never been registered with the GDC, was fined £110 and ordered to pay the GDC's full costs of £1,470. He must also pay a £20 victim impact surcharge.In delivering the verdict, the Magistrates stated:"People put trust in professional enterprises to be properly qualified. There is no doubt in my mind that people were misled. You may have been ignorant, or more deliberately burying your head in the sand. On the plus side, in terms of mitigating factors, you have pleaded guilty and you have no relevant previous convictions or convictions at all. There is no evidence of treatment going wrong or causing difficulties."

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

Posted - 10/10/2014 : 23:52:54The General Dental Council (GDC) has today, for the second time, successfully prosecuted a non-registrant for unlawfully practising dentistry, namely tooth whitening.On 9 October 2014 Michael Flanagan, plead guilty at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court to unlawfully holding himself out as being prepared to practise dentistry contrary to Section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984.The offence relates to an incident that happened on 1 August 2014 when Mr Flanagan was working at 26 Kings Hill Avenue, Maidstone, Kent, ME19 4AE and was offering unlawful tooth whitening under the ‘Smile 60’ franchise.He’s been fined £500 and ordered to pay a £50 victim surcharge and full GDC costs of £1442.67. Mr Flanagan was also prosecuted by the GDC in February 2014 in relation to a section 38 offence. He has accepted a breach of the conditional discharge from the earlier offence – it was put in place for 12 months and will continue to run to 5 February 2015.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

Posted - 31/10/2014 : 18:15:30On 31 October 2014 Lisa Watson appeared at Plymouth Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty of unlawfully holding herself out as practising or being prepared to practice dentistry, contrary to Sections 38(1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984.The case was brought after she unlawfully held herself out as being prepared to practise dentistry, namely tooth whitening, on 23 April 2014 at Glow Tanning, Nails & Beauty Lounge, 15 Fore Street, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 6AF.Ms Watson, who has never been registered with the GDC, was fined £375 and ordered to pay a £37 victim surcharge and £974.58 GDC costs.Tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry. This means that, in accordance with the law, it must only be carried out by registered dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists and clinical dental technicians (working to the prescription of a dentist).Patients can check their dental professional is registered by logging on to the GDC's website www.gdc-uk.org.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

Posted - 03/11/2014 : 22:03:41On Friday 31 October 2014 Melanie Vanstone pleaded guilty at Plymouth Magistrates' Court to one offence of unlawfully practising dentistry contrary to section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984, namely tooth whitening.The case was brought after she unlawfully held herself out as being prepared to practise dentistry, namely tooth whitening, at The Tanning and Beauty Lounge, 12-14 Fore Street, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 6JL on 23 April 2014. Ms Vanstone was fined £375 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £37.50. She was also ordered to pay costs to the GDC of £2000.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

On 25 November 2014 Wahidur Rahman was found guilty at Thames Magistrates’ Court of unlawfully practising dentistry, namely tooth whitening, at 44 Broadway, Stratford, E15 4BQ. Both the offences, which took place on 29 August 2014 and on 4 September 2014, were contrary to Section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984.

Mr Rahman was also found guilty of unlawfully carrying on the business of dentistry, contrary to Section 41 (1) and (1B) of the Dentists Act, between 26 and 29 August 2014.

The prosecution relates to a complaint from a member of the public, who had suffered a sharp burning sensation to their gums following tooth whitening treatments performed by Mr Rahman.

Mr Rahman was fined £100 for each charge (total £300) and was ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge, as well as compensation to the victim of £135. He was also ordered to pay full GDC costs of £994.33.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

Posted - 13/01/2015 : 17:33:16On 13 January 2015 Yuling Geng entered a guilty plea by post at Willesden Magistrates' Court to unlawfully practising dentistry contrary to Section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984. Ms Geng also pleaded guilty to unlawfully carrying on the business of dentistry contrary to Section 41 (1) and (1B) of the Dentists Act 1984.The offences took place on 17 September 2014 at Sunshine Teeth Whitening, 61 Watling Avenue, Burnt Oak, Edgware, HA8 0LD.Ms Geng, who has never been registered with the GDC, was fined £1000 for each of the two charges and ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge. Ms Geng was also ordered to pay costs to the GDC of £1760.41.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

Posted - 21/01/2015 : 21:00:03Merseyside man found guilty of offering illegal tooth whiteningThe UK regulator of dental practice, the General Dental Council (GDC), has successfully prosecuted a man for unlawfully holding himself out as being prepared to practise dentistry - namely tooth whitening.Tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry. Legally, it can only be carried out by individuals who are regulated by the GDC, specifically dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, or clinical dental technicians working to a dentist's prescription. On 21 January 2015 Kieran Rimmer was found guilty in his absence at St Helens Magistrates' Court of holding himself out as being prepared to practise dentistry, contrary to Section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984. The offence took place on 15 October 2014 at Smile Lab Tan Lab, 38a Baldwin Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 2RL. Mr Rimmer, who has never been registered with the GDC, was fined £400 and ordered to pay a £40 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to pay the GDC's full costs of £2, 871.10.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.

On 21 January 2015, Janet Johnstone was found guilty in her absence at Salford & Manchester Magistrates' Court of holding herself out as being prepared to practise dentistry, contrary to Section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984. The offence took place at Simply Chic, 112 Bolton Road, Walkden, Salford, M28 3BW on 5 August 2014. Ms Johnstone, who has never been registered with the GDC, was fined £1750 and ordered to pay a £200 victim surcharge. She was also ordered to pay costs to the GDC of £2500.

John StanfieldWebmasterTo be a professional you must believe you are a professional and take responsibility for it.